The latest move fills perhaps the biggest hole on the roster for the Eagles, getting Miami Dolphins edge rusher Jaelan Phillips in exchange for a 2025 third round pick.
“The Eagles are acquiring DE Jaelan Phillips from Miami for a third-round pick, per sources — the sides have been discussing a trade for week,” NFL reporter Albert Breer wrote on his official X account on November 3. “Philly DC Vic Fangio was with Phillips in Miami in 2023.”
Phillips has been one of the hottest names in trade rumors leading up to the deadline but has also missed 25 games over the last 2 years with injuries.
” … He only has 2 sacks this year, but he leads the Dolphins in QB pressures,” The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia said on “The Ringer NFL Show” podcast on October 28. “He’s a free agent at the end of this season, so it’s not like you’re making some kind of big commitment and taking on a bunch of risk. He can help you now. So, he’s a fit, and maybe you re-sign him at the end of the season.”
Even with recent trades for Phillips and cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Michael Carter II, the Eagles still have a war chest of draft picks left.
“After acquiring Jaelan Phillips, the Eagles are still projected to have eight draft picks in 2026 (1,2,3,3,4,4,5,5) — that includes potentially receiving three total compensatory picks for Milton Williams (3rd), Josh Sweat (4th) and Mekhi Becton (5th),” ESPN’s Jordan Reid wrote on his official X account.
Eagles Address Major Problems at Edge Rusher
The Eagles have been left scrambling at edge rusher over the last month.
Their most promising young player at the position, Nolan Smith, injured his triceps in a Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Rams and won’t return, at the earliest, until a Week 10 road game against the Green Bay Packers.
Then, on October 13, veteran edge rusher Za’Darius Smith shocked the Eagles when he announced his retirement on Instagram.
The Eagles lost their Alpha Dog edge rusher from last year’s Super Bowl winning team when Josh Sweat, who led the Eagles in sacks in 2024, signed a 4-year, $76.4 million free agent contract with the Arizona Cardinals in March.
Phillips Coming Off 2 Serious Injuries
Phillips, 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds, only played in 11 games over his first 2 college seasons at UCLA due to injuries and medically retired from football in December 2018 after a moped accident.
He wouldn’t return to the field for 2 years, eventually playing a dominant final season for the University of Miami in 2020 where he earned All-American and All-ACC honors with 45 tackles, 8.0 sacks, 16 TFL, 3 pass deflections and one interception in 10 games.
Phillips was a first round pick (No. 18 overall) by the Dolphins in the 2021 NFL draft.
The Dolphins picked up the fifth year extension on Philliips’ 4-year, $14 million rookie contract — money that will bring his career earnings to approximately $27.2 million following this season.
Through his first 2 NFL seasons, Phillips was one of the NFL’s dominant young pass rushers, playing in all 34 regular season games with 103 tackles, 15.5 sacks, 17 TFL, 3 fumble recoveries and an incredible 41 QB hits.
Phillips looked like he was on the verge of becoming to one of the NFL’s elite pass rushers in 2023 with 6.5 sacks through the first 8 games before he tore his Achilles tendon. He returned in Week 4 of the 2024 season against the Tennessee Titans but tore his ACL in his first game back.
